The HLMG has filed an amicus curiae brief to the International Criminal Court, describing why the ICC charges against Israel of intentional starvation and unlawful killing in Gaza are false.
Not just false, but egregiously and absurdly false..
Within the report, the experts list no less than three ways that Israel conducts itself in war that are unmatched by any other military in history.
On the "starvation" charge, they describe in detail Israel's efforts to bring aid into Gaza and then conclude:
It is our considered military opinion that the State of Israel and the IDF are and have been since the inception of this operation complying in good faith with all international legal obligations to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Based on our experience and knowledge, Israel is facilitating aid to a level we have not seen in our own militaries and we are not aware of our forces’ efforts or even capabilities to conduct similar operations. We do not believe any other armed forces have ever made such efforts, or achieved such success, in facilitating aid delivery to civilians in enemy territory while still engaged in active hostilities in that same operational environment. It is our professional view that accusations of an intent to starve civilians by the Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defence are unsupported by all available evidence, most importantly by the actual conduct of IDF operations in and around Gaza.
On the unlawful killing charge, they add another example where Israel does things to protect civilians above and beyond every military in recorded history:
One of the most pertinent examples of innovative civilian risk mitigation is the Civilian Harm Mitigation Cell (CHMC), established prior to the conflict and in operation during every phase. The CHMC integrates digital map technology, updated hourly, and intelligence to show population density in each area of Gaza. Every IDF operations centre has access to this map which is cross-checked with real-time air surveillance to verify civilian presence.IDF targeting of air strikes is made in conjunction with the CHMC and influenced by civilian population density in a particular area. Selection of munition size is based on the nature of the military target, intelligence regarding enemy presence and the proximity of civilians.It is our professional opinion that such a unit is extremely unusual and we are not aware of any other military with a comparable risk mitigation methodology. We assess this is an unprecedented measure, along with millions of leaflet drops, phone calls, text and voice messages, to help commanders prevent or minimise risk to civilian life. How such innovative efforts align with an allegation of the defendants in this matter directing the IDF to intentionally attack civilians is perplexing.
Finally, they note how Israel's internal investigations of incidents during wartime also operate at a speed and efficiency never before seen by any other army, ever:
During our assessment we visited the IDF Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism which examines any incident that could raise a charge of possible illegal conduct or military procedural misconduct (except for incidents that immediately raise suspicion of criminal misconduct, which are sent directly for criminal investigation). There are currently approximately 300 incidents being actively investigated by the FFAM, with many more which they have received initial information about. To our knowledge no other armed forces have established such a permanent system but would benefit from doing so.In respect to the speed of the FFAM’s processes, Australia’s Special Advisor, Air Chief Marshal Binskin, reporting on the World Central Kitchen strike, stated: ‘…the ADF [Australian Defence Force] could not have imposed equivalent reprimands as quickly as the IDF CGS [Chief of General Staff] was able to.’By way of comparison, we draw your attention to war crimes investigations by comparable armed forces in Australia and the UK. The Brereton report was commissioned by the Inspector-General of the ADF to investigate war crimes by Australian forces committed between 2005 and 2016 . The investigation began in 2016 and reported in 2020. Charges were not brought until 2023.The Haddon-Cave Independent Inquiry was commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence to investigate alleged special forces war crimes in Afghanistan committed between 2010 and 2013. It was established in 2022 and is ongoing. These two inquiries give a clear parallel to Israeli investigations of war crimes and demonstrate the length of time required to give an equitable, legal outcome in such investigations.
Thousand of reporters are writing from and about Israel, and next to none of them have done what this group does: actually talk to IDF officials and find out their methods, let alone comparing them to every other army in the world.
When the media reports on the IDF as being among the most monstrous armies in history, and the real experts with real knowledge say that Israel is doing things to protect civilians and investigate incidents at levels far beyond the armies that they themselves were part of - then either these highly decorated experts are liars, or the media is not reporting the truth.
South Africa and other countries, and NGOs who side with them, don't want anyone to read reports like this. It demolishes their lies. And it proves that they, and all the people who ignore this evidence, are not interested in the truth and not interested in human rights. They are just disgusting Jew-haters.
